2012 Riverrock draws record crowds

The crowds were huge; the competitions were epic; the weather was perfect. If you didn’t make it down to Dominion Riverrock this past weekend. You missed one heck of a celebration of music and outdoor sports. I was down there for the Times-Dispatch covering Saturday’s and Sunday’s events. I also participated in the Urban Assault mountain bike race on Saturday. Good times were had all around. I think it’s fair to say Riverrock is, like the Folk Festival and the Monument Avenue 10,K becoming a circled date on many Richmonders’ calendars.

Here’s the recap from Sports Backers, who organize Riverrock:

The 4th annual Dominion Riverrock presented by Subaru, the East Coast’s premier outdoor sports and river life festival, concluded this afternoon after drawing more than 65,000 spectators and 4,000 participants to Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar in Richmond, VA, for the weekend’s festivities. This year Dominion Riverrock expanded its footprint and added a third day of competition. Dominion Riverrock is now the largest outdoor sports and music festival in the United States.

“The growth of this event has been tremendous,” said Megan Schultz, Dominion Riverrock event director. “To have more than 65,000 people come together to celebrate the riverfront is just amazing.”

Athletes and spectators alike crowded Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar for an incredible combination of sporting events and music. New to Dominion Riverrock in 2012 were Slacklining, Bouldering Dyno Comp, a short course Dirt Crit mountain bike event, as well as demo areas for mountain biking, bouldering, and slacklining.

Other crowd favorites at Dominion Riverrock included the Subaru Ultimate Air Dogs, Boulder Bash and Native Freestyle Bikes. The Miller Lite Filthy 5k took place on Friday evening with more than 2,200 participants, a new registration record for Dominion Riverrock. The James River Scramble 10k presented by Goal Zero, drew about 1,000 participants and the Thule Urban Assault Mountain Bike race had nearly 300 riders.

Kayaks, stand up paddleboards, mountain bikes, slacklining and bouldering were available throughout the duration of the event for festival attendees to demo. More than 3,500 people took advantage of this opportunity.

On the music front, Keller Williams with the Travelin’ McCourys got the crowd on its feet on Friday. On Saturday, the much anticipated JJ Grey & Mofro took the stage at 7:30 p.m. followed by the New Orleans-based GALACTIC at 9 p.m.

About Andy Thompson

I was the Outdoors Columnist at the Times-Dispatch from 2007 to 2013, writing twice a week about mountain biking, fishing, hunting, paddling and much more. I live a 1/4 mile from the James River, close enough to see bald eagles soaring over my house on their way to find a meal. Pretty cool, eh?